Implement for binding shipping packages



Defn 13, 11127. 1,652,814

'S.C.CARY

IMPLEMENT FOR BINDING SHIPPING PACKAGES Filed Feb. 18I 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 SP5/VCE@ C. CHP- Dec. 13, 1927.

S. C. CARY IMPLEMENT FOR BINDING SHIPPING PACKAGES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 18, 1921 Patented Dec. 13, 1927.

UNITED STATES y 1,652,814 PATENT OFFICE.

SPENCER C. CARY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK; ALBERT A. HOVELL, EXECUTOR OF SAID SPENCER C. CARY, DECEASEI), ASSIGNOR TO CARY MANUFACTURING CO., OF BROOK- LYN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

IMPLEMENT FOR BINDING SHIPPING PACKAGES.

Application filed February 18, 1921.

This invent-ion is an implement operable for applying' a binder und-er tension to a shipping package of one form or another, usually a box, crate or shook.

ln this art it is desirable to compress the components of a package in order to preclude the contents of the package from disrupting said package as well as to enable the package to withstand rough usage in transporting and handling the same. It has been the practice ordinarily to bind al package by applying thereto a band composed of a flat metal strap nailed to the case or by a wire the ends of which are united; but as a rule the strap or wire is not under tension with a view to compressing the components of the package so as to add stability thereto.

According to the invention, a wire binder is used, said wire binder being provided with a shoulder of one form or another, and during the. operation of applying tension to said binder, the shoulder thereof retains said binder in position relatively to the tensioning implement and to the package. The shoulder on the wire resists the tendency of said wire to pull out of position during the operation of applying tension to said wire in order' for the wire under tension to compress the components of the package, it being essential that the wire shall be stretched into tight engagement vwith the` walls of the package: in fact, the tension imparted to said wire binder is such as to embed said wire into the material of the package at the corners thereof, as a result of which the wire is retained against displacement upon the package and it is not necessary to use staples or other fixtures for holding the said wireagainst pulling oft the package, particularly in case the wooden walls of the package should shrink after the application of the binder.

A shoulder is provided on the binder at a suit-able point and in one'embodiment of the invent-ion, two shoulders are provided at separated points on the wire, the said shoulders performing the function primarily of precluding the wire during the stretching operation from displacement with respect to the tensioning means.

Provision is made for applying tension to the shouldered wire at two distinct stages. The wire is passed or looped around the package, and it is stretched so as to initially Serial No. 446,034.

take up slack or to draw the. wire taut and by a continuation of this operation to apply to said binder such tension as will draw the binder tightly into contact with the package, the tension so applied operating to compress the package and to embed the wire into the material of the package, at the corners thereof. This is the first stage of the tensioning operation, and subsequently thereto said wire binder is additionally tensioned by twisting the crossing end portions at a point intermediate the two gripping points, whereby said binder is ultimately placed under strain throughout its length so as to take up the undesirable slack due to the elevation of said binder relatively to the surface of the shipping package, which elevation of the binder is occasioned by the gripping contacts of the stretcher with the binder.

It is to be understood that the operation of initially placing tension on the binder is performed by mechanism one embodiment of which employs a plurality of grippers wherein the respective end portions of the wire binder are secured, to effect which engagement of the binder with the grippers it is necessary for a portion of the wire t0 be positioned free from contact with the surface of the shipping package and which displacement of the binder relatively to the package will, on the removal of the grippers, permit a certain amout of slack to exist in the binder, ultimately tending to decrease the tension initially applied to said binder.

lVith a view to placing additional tension on the binder for taking up the slack Which ordinarily would exist upon the removal of the initial tension or stretching means, I have associated with said stretching or initial tension means a twisting mechanism, the same being positioned for action upon the crossing end portions of the binder, which twisting mechanism acts to twist said crossing end portions of the binder directly together, thereby uniting said end portions and reducing the effective length of the binder intermediate the gripping points, as a result of which the undesirable slack occasioned by spacing the binder relatively to the surface of t-he package is taken up and said binder as an entirety is placed under tension throughout the length thereof.

The initial tension or stretching means, and the twisting means acting as a secondlul binder for placing tension thereon intermediate the two spaced gripping points, whereby the binder is placed under the required tension.

Other functions and vad'vantages of the invention will appeal' from the following description taken in coiiiiectioiiwvith the drawings, wherein- Figure l is al plan view of the implement in position'for placing initial tension upon a binderT l .l

Figure 2 is a side elevation of Figure l.

Figure 3 is a vertical cross section in a plane intermediate the twist-ing mechanism and one of the stretching and gripping heads. y

Figure l is an elevation partly in section of the twisting' mechanism.

Figure 5 is a detail vertical section on the line {5*5 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a detail section of one of the grippers. y

One embodiment of means `for placing tension initially on wire binder is a stretcher `comprising a plurality of heads A B, a doublev threaded screw spindle C, a guide stem D, a locating element E, and grippers F carried by the heads A B, respectively. Each head A or B* is a single casting provided with a threaded aperture a and with a slot a above the jawr t), said slot entendingvthrough the head as shown in Figure 6 for the binder to enter the slot freely. The stem D passes loos-ely througl'i thepheads A B near the ends opposite the slotted jaws, said stem co-'operating with the screw spindlein keeping the two heads in parallelrelation. The guide stem D occupies a fixed relation to the slidable heads il B and to the rotatory screw spindle, for which purpose the stein is fitted in an opening of the locating member E and is secured tixedly thereto in a suitable way, as by the cross-pin ve. Said locating member is pro\ vided'ywith a face plate e in depending relation to the vbody portion of said member E, wherebythe face plate is adapted to rest into contact with a side of the shipping pei-clage when the implement rests upon the topV of said package, see Figure 2, and to thus act as means for-locating said implement in a desired operative relation to the package for the application 'of the binder thereto. The body portion of the locating member in different forms" and varied:

Vagainst the guide spindle, see Figures 3 is provided with an opening e2, see dotted lines in Figures l and 2, through which loosely passes the screw spindle C, and to one 'A B respectively, whereby the rotary motion of the screw journaied in the opening e2 or the locating' member acts to impart sliding movement to the heads A B, the two heads being shifted simultaneously and in opposite directions to each other.

Each head A or B is slotted'or forked by the provision of a recess f above 'the slot (if, and within this recess is positioned the cam Vshaped head f of one gripperF or F see Figure 6. its shown, each gripper comprises a cam shaped head f and' a suitable handle which Vis shown in Figures l and (5 as Vextending upwardly from said head 7".

.The head j of each gripper is provid-ed with a rib g, whereas the jaw Z) of the head provided with a grooveV g, see Figures 2 and 6, the rib g and the groove g being in the saine plane. The. ribbed cam head coacts with the grooved underlying plate for crimping the wire binder, thus resulting in the formation 0f a shoulder. As shown, the two grippers act to produce shoulders at separated points on the wire binder, and these shouldered parts of the binder co-operate with tensioning means to preclude said wire binder from displacement or slipping under the strain applied to said wire in applying the desired tension thereto. 'A cross pin 71, passes through the recessed upper part fot' the head A or B and thro gh the head j ot the gripper, said pin .7L operating to pivotally attach the gripper to the sliding head and to serve asthe ulciuin for the gripper.

rlhe twisting mechanism is positioned for operation upon the crossing end portions of the binder and at a point interinedate the sliding heads A .B and their associated gripper-s F F. As shown, the operating parts of the twister are mounted in or cai'- ried by a non-sliding head composed of coinplemental parts G G assembled into lateral contact with each other and secured iirinly together, as by bolts it. The twister head is perforated for the passage through it of the guide stem and the screw spindle C, and said 'twister head is held against sliding movement by a binding screw 7i? mounted in the rear part of the head and binding l lllfi 4i, whereby the twisterl head is fixedly retained in position intermediate the sliding heads A B and grippers F F Y isa n'iaster gear I, and an intermediate gear J,

said train of gea-rs being encased within the twister head and each gear being mounted in said head independently of the other gears of said train. The twister head is provided at its bottom edge with a jaw le and with a slot k above said jaw, said slot extending at one end through an edge of the twister head, see Figure et and dotted lines in Figure 3, in order that the crossing end portions of the binder may be received freely within the slotted part of the nonmovable twister head. The complemental parts G Gr of the twister head are provided with interior recesses fm, in the plane of the slot le to produce a bearing for the cylindrical body of the twister gear II, whereby said twister gear is mounted for aXia-l rotation within the twister head, see Figures el and 5. The body of the twister gear is provided with a longitudinal slot a, and in the normal position of the twister gear H the slot a thereof is in register or alinement with the slot lcY of the twister head, thus making provision for the free entry of the crossed portions of the binder into the slot of the twister head and into the slot of the rotatory twister gea-r, see Figure it.

The intermediate gear J is supported by a stub shaft y' in appropriate bearings within the twister head so that said intermediate gear is in mesh with the teeth of the twister gear H and with the teeth of the master gear I. Said master gear is on a shaft z" mounted in bearings provided in the complemental parts G G of the twister'head, and to this shaft there is secured an operating lever I by a pin t, said lever I being movable back and forth so as to apply power to the master gear, the movement of which master gear I multiplied by the intermediate gear ,I for imparting the required rotative movement to Vthe slotted twister gear I-l. by a single movement of the lever I in one direction.

For retaining the crossing' or lapping end portions of the binder within the slot le of the twister head and the slot 'n of the twister gear, and to preclude said crossing binder ends from being thrown out of the twister gear by the rotatory motion thereof, I provide retainers, one at each side of the twister head, as shown at O P. Each retainer consists of an arm or plate positioned in close relation to one face of the twister head so as to extend across the slot 7c therein prior to imparting the rotary motion to the twister gear and at the period of rotation of the gear, but subsequently to the rotation of said gear, the retainers are shifted out of position, for which purpose the two retainers are mounted on a cross pin 0, the latter being journaled in the twister head ata point preferably above the gear H. As shown in Figure 5, the retainersare fitted on square portions of the cross pin and attached fixedly thereto by screws 0, so that rocking movement of the cross pin imparts swinging motion to the two retainers simultaneously. The retainers may have any desired form, but as shown in Figure 3 one retainer is provided with a, lip p and with a finger piece p, the, latter affording convenient means for moving the retainer and rotating the cross pin so that the two retainers are shifted into and out of position by the rotative movement of the cross pin.

Having described the construction of the implenient, the operation may be set fort-h as follows The implement is usually placed upon the top of a. shipping package indicated at X, with the face plate e of the locating member E in contact with a side of the package, and a binder, usually a wire Y, is looped around said package, the end portions g/ y of the binder wire being in crossing relation, see Figure l. The gripper-s F F being in the opened (raised) positions (see Figure 6), one end y of the wire is passed in the slot a and between the jaw b of head A and the gripper F, whereas the other end portion y of the binder is received in the slot a and between the jaw b of head B and gripper F see Figures l and 2, the overlapping portions y y of the wire passing loosely or freely within the slots It" a of the twister head Gr G and the twister gear H,krespectively. The grippers F F are nowv turned for the ribs g thereof to crimpl or bend the wire toward the grooves g in the jaws of the respective heads A B, and thus shoulders are formed on the wire at separated points, one at the head A and ,the other at head B, said points being separated relatively to the twisting mechanism. The shoulder or shoulders provided on the wire co-operate with one element or with .both elements of the tensioning means, said shoulder of the wire and the element or elements co-operating to retain the wire against displacement or movement with respect to said element or elements of the tensioning means during the operation of placing tension on said wire. The operator new turns the crank'e, to rotate screw C, the latter acting to impart sliding movement to the heads A B for drawing them toward each other and toward the twist-ing mechanism. the major length of the wire by drawing the same in two directions around the shipping package X, whereby the required tension is initially placed upon the wire.

By drawing upon the wire in two directions at one operation of the tension means I have found that the wire is more quickly and uniformly stretched around the package This operation imposes strain upon andthe several Corners thereof, andby us. ingthe screw-actuated stretcher it is possible to apply such tension to the wire as to embed f the wire against displacement, for the reason that the wire embedded in the corners ot tli'e'package is retainedagainst move-y ment relatively to thel package.

The wire is thus pla'cedunder tension for the maj'orpart Vof its lengthy around the package, but the lapping or crossing eud portions ot said binder are not` only tree but they are spaced relatively to the. top surface of the package, see .iiigure 2. lIlhe nent step consists in the operation of the twister, but prior thereto the operator iinparts movement to the cross pin 0 for movingr the retainers O I yacross the eues oll the slot A in the twister head, so as to preclude the free ends1 of the binder from lbeing thrown vout ot the head by the vrotative movement of the twister` gear II. V i

. New, while the binderis heldV under tensien by the headsii B and screw C, the opfator moves the lever I ina forward direction, thus rotating gears J I imparting rotative motion to the twister gear .II,vthe latter acting to twist together the' lapping or Crossing end portions y y of the binder; rllhe twisting et the binder ends 'y y places additional tension upon the binder. ata point intermediate the heads A B, .and while the binder is undertension oi" the stretcher, and the eii'ect of this operation is ito lock the end portions of the binder by twisting them directly `one to the other and to stretch that part ot the binder intermediate t-he gripping points at the two heads A B, thus imparting to the binder additional tension for taking' up slack therein, the ultimate etllect ol which is to compensa-te ifor the slack which might otherwiseztake place in the binder when the implenrent is removed,

whereby the bin der is so tensi'oned that there is no appreciable slack when they stretcher is disconnected and said hinder remains undertension around the pa rage and in such 'frictional contact therewith'as to compress the components oit the pack into the l 1ed lirm relation with a view to increasing the stability ot said package,

During the twisting operation, the lappingportions et the wire are retained within th slot a of the gear II'by the retainers O I), and this .gear is turned therequired number of times (say two) lor completing the twist by a. singleV motion ofileverI, at the end of which the gear IIis in a position for the slot a therein to register with theslot 76 ot the twister head. The retainers 0 P are now lifted by applying pressure to the ingerpiece ji'andftlie grippers F Ff vbinder-receiving vaperture,` A and withdrawal of the implementrelatively to the binder.

Having thus fully described the invention,

kwhat I claim as new and desire to secure'byr Letters Patent is:

l. In a package binding implement, binder-twisting means embodying a non-movable head provided with a binder receiving slot, Y a twister gear mounted in said head, said gear having a slot adapted for register with the slotot' the head, means for imparting rotative movement to said twister gear, and y a plurality ot retainers mounted on the head y and shift-able relatively to the slot therein, in combination with binder tensioning means operable for initiallyplacing tension upon the binder and tor lretaining the latter under tension during they operation ot said twist-ing means.

2. In apackage vbinding implement, binder-twisting means embodying a 'nonmovable head provided with a binder-receiving slot, a cross pinmounted on the head for rocking movementtherein, a plurality 'ot' retainers carried by the cross pin 4rand shittable grelatively to the slot ot' said heac, and a train ot gears journaled in said head, in combination with binder tensioning means including means for gripping a binder at opposite sides of the twisterlhead and means for imparting movement 'to said gripping means relatively to the twister head so as to place tension upon the binder prior to the action of the twisting 4 means and to retain the binder under tension at the period of operation of thetwisting means.

lun

l3.In av package binding implement,v a

twister-head proiiidedwith a binder receiv ing aperture, a binder retaining member supported by said head to trictionally hold the overlapped portions oin the binderfor precluding displacement therefrom of the crossing portions ot a binder during the operation of twisting the same, said binder-retaining member being shiftable relatively to said twisting means carried by said twister-head.

e. In a package binding implement, a twister-head provided with'a slot adapted for the reception of the crossing portions of a wire binder, a plurality ot binder retaining members supported by said twister-head and positioned one at each side of thel twisterhead for retaining in lthe slot thereof the crossing end portions of a binder during the operation ot twisting the same, said binderretaining members being shift-able relatively to the binder receiving slot, andtwisting means carried by the twister-head.

5. In a. wire tying inachine,tension means including a plurality ofheads each provided with means for deforming a wire binder and operable to grasp said deformed binder and to retain said binder against movement with reference to said head, and means for effecting a relativo movement of said heads and operable subsequently to the detorming and grasping operations upon the binder, in combination with binder-joining means operable to unite portions of said binder, and retaining means engageable with the binder and effective during the action of said binderjoining means in precluding dislodgment ot said binder with reterenceto the binderjoining means.

G. ln a wire tying machine, tension means including a plurality ot' heads each provided with means for detorming a wire binder and for grasping said deformed binder, and means for eteeting a relative movement of said heads whereby the binder is tensioned, combined with a twister head positioned intermediate said relatively movable heads, hinder-retaining means supported by the twister head and engageable with a binder at the respective sides of the twister head, and twisting means mounted in the twister head for joining the end portions ot' Said binder.

7 In a wire tying machine, tension means including a plurality of heads and means SPENCER C. CARY. 

